Fading Hope
by Harriet Harmon
Summary: After a year away from Stalag 13, Colonel Hogan, Kinch and Carter discover that the camp has had many changes. I do not own the characters of Hogan's Heroes....
1. Chapter 1

The air hung stagnant in the barracks as the prisoners slept. Their breath shallow in their chests as the stale air slowly suffocated them. The last epidemic had taken many of the younger soldiers and left the others pale and thin as their disease ridden home kept them running to the latrine. The stalags had been suffering during the last years of war and the Kommandants had little control over the water supply which was the main source of the continued epidemics. Headquarters in Berlin kept a tight hold on what supplies went into the camps as they were losing the war and feared for their future in Germany. The food supplies were infrequent and most often arrived after the German troops had taken what they wanted.

Several seasons of mud and cold rain had left the compound of Stalag 13 in a severe downtrodden state. The collection of barracks appeared rain washed and cold with their tin roofs rusted and unkempt. The chill within the barracks permeated everything, including the thin blankets that the sleeping prisoners huddled under. The bunks were crowded together so close that there was barely enough space in between to stand. In each barracks stood a large pot bellied stove that hardly gave out enough heat to warm the nearest bunk.

The cracks in the walls, invited in the wind and rain and sometimes snow and kept the men shivering and pale.

Within barracks two, there lay an RAF corporal who tossed and turned in sleep as the wind whistled through the cracks next to the roof. He mumbled in his sleep and rolled onto his side; his breath came out in cold white puffs and his face was pale with deep shadows under his eyes. His last meal had been two days before which was much like all his other bunk mates sleeping around him. In the beginning of his time in the POW camp, he'd eaten better and been part of a top secret underground mission. There were tunnels hidden beneath their barracks that the men still used but the missions now were minor and done by men he didn't know.

Colonel Hogan, Carter, and Kinch had been recalled to London a year before and shortly after Lebeau had been taken to the Concentration Camps when he was caught in disguise as a gypsy. Newkirk had been ordered to remain in the operation until the other three returned. When they left, things had changed and Newkirk found himself pushed away from doing missions and found himself feeling more and more like a POW for the first time since his arrival in the camp. He had heard horror stories of the concentration camps and feared his small french friend to be dead as the search and rescue attempts had all failed. It had been over a year since Lebeau was suspected of being a gypsy and taken away.

Newkirk stirred in his sleep and woke suddenly. He turned and looked around at the other sleeping soldiers and then back at what used to be Colonel Hogan's office. He sighed and wished things were different and that he had his friends with him. The bunk bed shook and rocked as Tom Eddis shifted on the bunk beneath him. Newkirk leaned over the side of the bed and looked down at Tom, watching him sleep. Tom was a big guy. He'd come to the camp shortly before Lebeau was taken away and had become good friends with Newkirk during that difficult time.

Tom sighed and opened his eyes and stared up at Newkirk. He raised an eyebrow at his English friend and mouthed the word 'what'?

"I miss my friends. There's been no word of them from London" whispered Newkirk.

"Your Colonel and the others are on missions for London elsewhere, Newkirk. You know that. They'll return only when they are needed" whispered Tom.

Newkirk looked around the room and a great sadness washed over him. "What about Lebeau?" he whispered

Tom frowned and looked up at his friend, feeling his sadness.

"He'll be okay. He's a strong little guy. When Colonel Hogan returns we can all go looking for him" said Tom, knowing he was talking rubbish since he had no idea when Colonel Hogan was returning and after all the reports he'd heard about the concentration camps he didn't think Lebeau had survived.

"I wish I could go look for him now. Its been a year already and even we are doing badly here. There's hardly any food and so much disease" said Newkirk as he laid his head on his hand and gazed unseeing across the room. He felt so tired but too miserable to sleep and when he did sleep; it was full of disturbing dreams about his friends. He sighed and closed his eyes as sleep overcame him anyway.

Tom got out of bed and stood up. He reached out and shifted Newkirks head and arm back onto the bed so he didn't fall out. Frowning, he laid his hand on Newkirks back and felt shocked by the bones sticking out as the Englishman was so very thin. Since Colonel Hogan had left, their new Senior POW officer had taken over command and been hopeless. He had died in the last epidemic and another man had taken his place. The new Colonel was never around when the men needed him and he was in such a depressed state of mind that he neglected his duties to his men who were starving at the hands of the Krauts.

Sergeant Schultz had been transferred to another post and Colonel Klink had died in the last epidemic that had claimed most of the other prisoners. The underground missions were on a temporary stand still as so many of the men had died. They kept in touch with London by radio, but rarely got involved as they once were when Colonel Hogan was around.

The new Kommandant was an angry man who sometimes hit the prisoners and believed in torture to keep his rules observed. Newkirk had suffered at the hands of the new Kommandant only twice and still had problems with his right ankle if he didn't pay attention.

Life at Stalag 13 had changed for the worse.

Colonel Hogan ran through the thick trees bordering a German factory of ammunition and signaled Carter to take off running. They ran along the edge of the woods until they came to a waiting truck where they threw themselves into the back as Kinch floored the pedal and sped off as the first set of explosions illuminated the sky. Carter shifted position sitting against the wall of the truck and smiled at the Colonel.

"Sounded good! Right on time too!" he said.

"Thank God you remembered your watch this time!" teased Colonel Hogan as he watched the sky glowing orange with the timed explosions.

They sped along the road and headed for the camp where they kept their headquarters while they worked on their mission of destroying all the ammunition plants in Germany. Since leaving Stalag 13, they'd not heard what had happened to the tunnels or how the missions were going. Colonel Hogan had wanted to leave Newkirk in charge, but London had sent a new Colonel to work with the men and had told Newkirk to give it a rest for a while. Colonel Hogan hoped Newkirk and Lebeau were doing well and that Klink and Schultz didn't miss him too much. They'd arranged for a 'prisoner transfer' so that Klink wouldn't wonder where the three of them were for the year they had to be gone. Their mission was coming to a close and soon they hoped to be on their way back to Stalag 13 to finish where they left off.

Back at the base camp, Kinch monitored the radio in the small room under the stairs in the abandoned farmhouse where they'd called home for the last year. Colonel Hogan and Carter ate beans from cans and chatted about how nice it will be to get back to Lebeau's cooking after so many meals of cold beans!

A message came in from London as they were bedding down for the night and Kinch relayed it to Colonel Hogan as Carter propped himself up on an elbow from his pallet on the floor.

"London says we are to make our way back to Stalag 13 to pick up where we left off!" said Kinch. "One thing, though. Headquarters said something about not being able to get through to the camp for the last few months and did mention something about there were changes."

"What kind of changes?" asked Carter.

"Well, Lebeau is not there and hasn't been for some time" said Kinch, looking a little worried.

"That seems odd. Maybe he escaped. But that doesn't sound like Lebeau to me" wondered Hogan out loud. He looked around at Kinch and Carter. "Lets travel by night and be there by morning. We can catch up on sleep once we arrive" he said as he started to gather up his things and stuff them into his rucksack.

They packed up and made sure to not leave anything around that would give a clue to someone else that they'd spent time there. They drove the truck as far as they could and then abandoned it twenty yards from a check point and slipped into the dark woods.

The sun was just rising as they reached the tunnel entrance and Colonel Hogan frowned as he saw how unused the tree stump was as there were vines and branches blocking their path. They cleared away a few branches and lifted the lid and climbed down into the tunnel.

"It doesn't look like anyone's been down here in months. Its a little creepy" said Carter as he picked his way over a pile of soft dirt that had fallen down from the beams a long time ago. The passageway wasn't lit and it was very hard to see more than a few fee in front of them.

A sense of doom started to ebb in Colonel Hogan's heart as he lead the way to the radio room. There was no one there and there appeared to have been a cave in near the radio which had covered part of the wirings with dirt.

With a heavy heart at not knowing what to expect; Hogan tapped on the entrance to the barracks to see if anyone would let them up. He waited and then tapped again, listening intently.

Footsteps sounded above him and the tunnel was bathed in painful light as the bunk bed lifted and a face looked down.

It was a big man that Hogan didn't recognize right away. He squinted up at the man and then he knew him. "Tom Eddis! Its us; Colonel Hogan, Kinch and Carter. Is it safe to come up?" he asked as Tom nodded and put out a helping hand to him.

The smell in the barracks hit him first and he reeled back at the odor of stale air. Roll call had obviously just happened as the prisoners were all outside and only Tom seemed to be in the barracks. Colonel Hogan stepped into the room, closely followed by Carter and Kinch who both looked around in surprise.

"Thank God you're here, Colonel Hogan" said Tom as he tapped the tunnel closed again. "We're in bad shape here since you've been gone"

Colonel Hogan looked around in worry. "What's happened here? Where's Newkirk and Lebeau? I must speak to Klink at once!"

Tom held out a hand to stop him and a sadness passed through his face that froze Hogan in his tracks.

"Shortly around the time you left, Lebeau was taken away to the concentration camps while he was on a mission disguised as a gypsy. We don't know if he's dead or alive and all our rescue attempts failed. Newkirk was pushed off the missions as you know and is barely alive with all the epidemics passing through here. Our last Senior POW officer died in the last epidemic as did Klink. Schultz was transferred out of here long ago" said Tom as the others stared at him in disbelief.

"Where is Newkirk now? Can you find him for us?" whispered Colonel Hogan as he tried to digest what Tom had just told him. Tom nodded and left the barracks to look for his friend with a spark of hope in his heart. He found Newkirk sitting in the dirt with his back up against barracks four. His knees were tucked up and his head was back against the wall with his eyes closed. He looked ill and too thin. Tom knelt down beside his friend and shook his shoulder gently.

"Newkirk, your friends are here. They're going to help us; they want to see you. Can you get up, Newkirk?" Tom nudged Newkirk again and didn't get a response as he realized the Englishman had passed out probably from lack of food. Tom looked around for any curious guards and then carefully he picked up the Englishman and was bothered by how light he was. Newkirks' head rolled back and Tom shifted him in his arms so that his head didn't hang at such an odd angle. He carried him back to barracks two and struggled into the doorway.

Colonel Hogan, Carter and Kinch sat at the small table and jumped up in surprise as Tom came in with Newkirk in his arms. They rushed to help him put Newkirk on a nearby bed. Colonel Hogan turned to Tom with deep worry lines furrowing his brow.

"What happened to him? You are both so thin and your clothes are ragged! What's happened here? When was the last time you guys had any food?" demanded Hogan as he watched Carter and Kinch try to awaken their friend who remained motionless and pale. He was shocked by how bad the conditions were in camp and the news of Lebeau was almost too much to handle. He felt sick with fear and worry.

Tom sank down onto the bed next to Newkirk and put his head in his hands as if exhaustion threatened to consume him too. "We haven't eaten for a few days now which has been how we've been living since you left. Newkirk has been really ill for the last couple of months. He's very weak now and the next epidemic will probably kill him. We've lost so many men already. The water is contaminated too and the Kommandant is a killer. We are dying here. Its only a matter of time" he whispered as Kinch and Carter looked at Hogan for some kind of helpful order.

"Tom, we need to close up shop here and get everyone back to London. It's too dangerous for any of you to stay here any longer. Can you start rounding up all the remaining prisoners so we can start sending them out to the subs. Kinch, radio London and have them stand by to receive a few hundred POWs. Carter, help me look for food and lets get Newkirk down into the safety of the tunnels" said Hogan as he pushed aside his feelings of horror and tried to focus on the needs of his men.

Tom stood up and made for the door to start gathering up the other prisoners as Kinch went back down into the tunnel. Carter felt tears prick his eyes as he lifted Newkirk easily over his shoulder and carefully carried him down into the tunnel below.

Colonel Hogan went into his old office and stopped short with a gasp at what he saw. A small breeze from the partly open window, gently swayed a man who had hung himself from a beam in the ceiling. His neck was broken and his eyes stared into nothing. Colonel Hogan dragged his eyes from the scene and then retreated back into the common room, carefully closing the door behind him. So that must have been the most recent Senior POW officer. He didn't recognize the man and wondered who he was and why he'd hung himself.

The barracks door opened as Tom returned with a group of prisoners who made Colonel Hogan's heart ache to see them. They walked listlessly behind Tom and were so pale and thin that he couldn't understand how they remained upright. Their clothes were in rags and filthy and hung on their frail bodies. One man stopped suddenly as he made eye contact with Colonel Hogan and with a sudden pang, Hogan recognized the soldier as Olson who had been on many missions in the past with them.

"Is that you, Colonel Hogan?" asked Captain Olson in a very weak voice. He raised an almost skeletal hand to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Yes, its me. I'm going to help you get out of this place. Please follow Tom down into the tunnel and we'll work at finding you something to eat, all right?" said Hogan with a deep sense of sorrow as he watched the prisoners coming into the barracks. They were all as skinny as Newkirk and looked near deaths door.

It took nearly all day to get all the prisoners down into the tunnel; but finally Colonel Hogan was the last one going down into the tunnel from the barracks. He was astonished to discover that of the five hundred men he had left a year ago; only eighty men remained. A sudden unpleasant thought occurred to him and he pulled Tom aside.

"Where are all the dead? How did the Krauts dispose of the bodies?" he whispered fearfully.

"They burned the dead, Sir" whispered Tom in a tone of complete desolation.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

_I'm borrowing the characters of Hogan's Heroes and do own them._

Thank you for the reviews of my first installment and I do hope the second part is as interesting as the first.

Newkirk jolted awake at the feel of cold metal touching his cracked lips. He knocked the thing away and tried to scramble backwards. Memories of the tortures he'd endured at the hands of the Kommandant flooded back to him with amazing clarity and he cried out in fear.

Calming hands eased him back onto a soft surface on the ground as he squinted into the dim light of the tunnel and saw Colonel Hogan trying to offer him a spoonful of broth from a tin cup.

"Colonel Hogan! Is that you? Am I dreaming?" he bleated as he took the tin cup with trembling hands and brought the warm liquid to his lips. In his haste to fill his empty stomach, he nearly choked on the broth and had to be patted on the back by Carter who came to sit next to him.

"I'm so sorry it's taken us so long to return. Had I known what was happening here, we would have returned immediately. I'm so sorry I let you down, Newkirk" said Colonel Hogan as he watched his friend feverishly gulp down the broth and hand it back for more.

Carter felt sick to his stomach at how badly his friend and the other prisoners had suffered while they'd been away. Thinking about the fate of his small French friend made a permanent lump rise in his throat.

Kinch, Colonel Hogan and Carter drifted from prisoner to prisoner tending their needs and making certain they all had full stomachs by the end of the evening. They sent word via radio to London to have a sub waiting to pick up the prisoners the following day.

Newkirk adamantly refused to be sent home without finding Lebeau and Colonel Hogan didn't have the heart to order him home as he was just as worried about the Frenchman as his men were.

It was in the cold hour before dawn that Newkirk woke again to find a sleeping stillness in the tunnels. He looked around and saw Carter and Kinch dozing in chairs and Colonel Hogan awake and watching as everyone slept. Newkirk lay back down as if to sleep, but felt a strange sense of unease. The air felt breathless, as if a waiting terror lay on the edge of a shadow. He found himself listening intently for the slightest sound and as he began to relax again, he heard a clinking sound from high above.

It was faint but distinct and had the hair standing up on his arms. Somebody overhead knew where they hid and was trying to get in. Colonel Hogan was on his feet instantly and closely followed by Carter and Kinch. As Newkirk watched, the three men crept to the place where they'd sealed the entrance to the barracks and listened. Colonel Hogan motioned for them to return to Newkirk's bedside and then he spoke barely above a whisper.

"They're using shovels and it won't be long before we're discovered" He beckoned to Tom Eddis and looked around at the waiting; watching men. "We have to move towards the emergency tunnel. Pass along the word. There can be no sounds, no talking! Kinch will lead the way and Carter and I will bring up the rear to help the weaker ones. Let's go!"

They moved out in single file down the passageways trying not to make a sound. There was no time to set charges but Kinch had taken time to disable the radio and hide any other evidence of their underground operation. Tom Eddis helped Newkirk as he walked with Carter. Newkirk felt stronger having eaten but still needed help physically. They reached the ladder to the emergency tunnel and stood waiting as Colonel Hogan made his way to the front of the line. He looked up the ladder and started to climb up and then stopped to listen suddenly as he thought he'd heard a sound. The men waited below in fearful silence, hardly daring to breathe as they watched the Colonel.

After waiting another moment, Colonel Hogan cautiously lifted the tunnel entrance and surveyed the area quickly. The woodland was dense and dark in the early gray light of dawn. He held his breath and strained to look into the deep shadows. As he watched, a shadow moved between the trees and froze the blood in his veins. The rising sun broke through a cloud barrier and cast a glowing sheet of gold light into the trees and Hogan recognized the shadow as a man who worked in the Underground transporting prisoners to the subs. He waited for a moment watching Gustav as the man slid back into the shadows and seemed to be watching his camouflaged entrance with keen interest.

Slowly, Colonel Hogan pulled himself out of the tunnel and slid into shadow near a large tree. He whistled and Gustav answered and quietly appeared beside Hogan with amazing stealth.

"I have eighty men waiting beneath. We must move fast as they've discovered the tunnel from the barracks. We have just moments" whispered Colonel Hogan as Gustav nodded his understanding.

"I have men waiting to assist your men" replied Gustav and he whistled once more as he looked into the filtering woodland shadows. Colonel Hogan gasped as he heard several answering calls and saw brief glimpses of many men hidden in the surrounding trees waiting to help his men.

It seemed a lifetime that Newkirk and the others waited for Colonel Hogan to reappear again and the fear emanating from all of them made the air stifling. Suddenly the entrance lifted and Hogan swiftly signaled to Kinch who immediately began ushering each prisoner up the ladder and into the outside world. Newkirk waited at the back with Carter and felt his heart thumping so hard he felt like he might scream if he didn't get out soon. An unknown fear seemed to linger behind them in the darkness of the passageways and Newkirk struggled to keep his breathing under control as he waited his turn.

Carter glanced behind them but saw nothing. The lingering fear hung over them and he put a protective arm around the Englishman's shoulders as they drew nearer to the ladder.

At last they were out of the tunnel and hidden in the dense trees surrounding the camp. Newkirk crouched in shadow beside Colonel Hogan, Carter and Kinch as they watched the last line of prisoners and underground agents disappear deep into the woodland and head towards the coast and freedom. Newkirk took one last look back at the camp that had nearly killed him and then followed his friends deeper into the woods and deeper into Nazi Germany as they began their search for Lebeau.

To be continued…..


	3. Chapter 3

Colonel Hogan sipped tasteless coffee from a tin cup as he absently watched his men sleep while his mind wandered. Since leaving the tunnels, they'd had an uneventful journey to the remote cottage of a girl named Amandine. She and her brother worked for the resistance group in the area and had helped Hogan on many other missions in the past. Since their arrival two days ago, Hogan had received word through other underground sources that Lebeau had been transported to Mauthausen-Gusen, which was a concentration camp not too far from the German-Austrian border. He had yet to tell the others and worried that they would be on the trail of a dead body.

The candle light flickered as an unseen draft penetrated their attic room Colonel Hogan shifted and quietly stood to peer out of the un-curtained window and look out across the vast expanse of dark trees. Nothing stirred in the surrounding woods, but there could be seen a thin band of smoke in the distance towards the way they'd come and Colonel Hogan suspected the Nazis were burning the Stalag to hide their treachery.

"What have you heard, Colonel?" whispered Kinch to Hogan's back as he watched his commanding officer in the light of the moon.

Hogan turned slowly to face his second in command so that his face was cast in shadow. "Lebeau is at Mauthausen-Gusen. It's been over a year since his transportation….." murmured Colonel Hogan in a strained voice.

Kinch sighed heavily, "We will be searching for a ghost. There may not even be a body to bring back…."

Colonel Hogan turned to look down at the sleeping Englishman and crammed his hands into his pockets. "We have to try to find him. He is part of our team and even in death is not forgotten. When Newkirks' strength is back up we will leave here."

Two days later, Colonel Hogan and his men climbed into a borrowed car and drove to the Austrian border to meet with an underground agent who owned a house close to the concentration camp where they would set up a base camp.

Carter drove with Colonel Hogan beside him and Newkirk in the back. Kinch crouched under a blanket where he couldn't be seen.

"Kinch; when we reach the house you need to set up radio contact with London and have a tap put on the phones so we can communicate with you if things get difficult" said Hogan as they drove. "Carter and I will dress as Nazis wanting to see the camp and Newkirk will be a prisoner we are transporting to the camp"

Colonel Hogan turned to look at the Englishman who sat looking pale and thin in baggy civilian clothes. "When we leave you in the concentration camp you will have just two days to find Lebeau as I cannot risk any more time with your life. The Nazis will not be merciful and I do not want you antagonizing them to find out information or you could very easily end up dead. Do you understand?"

Newkirk nodded. "Yes, Sir" he said. He was inwardly terrified by the concept of going into the concentration camp as a prisoner and hoped he'd survive just being an unwilling witness to the atrocities he'd heard about.

They arrived during the night and quietly slipped into the underground agents' house without arousing suspicion from the neighbors who were forever watchful and suspicious of anything new. Beyond the hill could be seen a great chimney that chuffed dense black clouds of smoke into the night sky and sent a fearful sick feeling into the pit of Hogan's stomach.

The men hardly slept and spent a good deal of the night going over what had to be accomplished once dawn broke. Colonel Hogan had to order Newkirk to eat before they began to dress their parts as the man was so nervous. Newkirk did as he was told and sat on the edge of Carter's bed trying to take bites of a sandwich while he watched Kinch set up his radio.

As the first rays of light sifted through the windows; Colonel Hogan, Carter and Newkirk climbed back into the car and headed in the direction of the main gates of the death camp. As they approached the gates a guard stopped them to check their papers and peered into the back at Newkirk while he waited for Carter to hand them over.

The guard scanned the papers Carter handed him and nodded curtly; handing them back and waving them on into the main courtyard of the camp. Colonel Hogan and Carter tried to focus on what was before them and tried not to let their eyes wander to the horrors around them. A stifled sob from the back seat confirmed that Newkirk had already seen the victim closest to them whose charred body hung entangled in the high

voltage fence they'd just past. "Take it easy, Newkirk" whispered Colonel Hogan as they stopped the car and watched and waited as a Kommandant and another officer came to greet them.

Newkirk held his breath and watched as the Kommandant and officer approached them. Colonel Hogan and Carter got out of the car to greet the men. From where Newkirk watched, he saw them gesturing towards the car where he still sat. Suddenly the car door was yanked open and an SS soldier reached in and grabbed his arm and hauled him out of the car with such roughness that he cracked his head on the car door. Newkirk heard Colonel Hogan and Carter protesting about the rough treatment, but the soldier ignored them and threw Newkirk ahead of him to the processing stations. Newkirk risked a fleeting glance back at Hogan and Carter and saw them staring after him with pained expressions on their faces.

The next few hours seemed to go by in slow motion and Newkirk felt like he was not inside himself, but floating somewhere nearby watching the whole scene. He felt more frightened than he had ever thought he could be and this time there was no one to save him or protect him from harm. The Nazi processors ordered him to undress at which point he was told to stand on a chair in humiliation and be examined by several other men with strange instruments that they poked and prodded him with. After they were satisfied he was put into a locked room where they deloused him with chemicals. He was then released and his hair shaved off. He was held down while they tattooed a number into his left forearm. He shook so hard that he didn't scream and wondered if he were still alive and why he didn't react to the intense pain. Finally, after what seemed like an age; they gave him foul smelling clothes that were chilly and too big for him.

Smiling, the SS guard gave him a shove out the door and into the gray afternoon light. "Let's go show your Nazi captors what a good transformation you've made!" he said as he prodded the Englishman forward to the main officer's hut.

Newkirk climbed the stairs and waited while the SS guard ahead of him opened the door and pulled him into the room.

Colonel Hogan and Carter sat at a table with drinks in their hands as the door opened and an SS guard pulled a bedraggled looking prisoner into the room.

"This is your prisoner, Sir!" said the SS guard proudly, "Are you pleased?"

Hogan gasped in shock as he recognized Newkirk and heard Carter gasp beside him. His heart hammered in his chest and he tried to look into Newkirks' eyes.

Newkirk caught Hogan and Carter's eyes and turned his head away as he felt tears forming. The SS guard smiled and watched pleasantly as the Kommandant stood up and clubbed the Englishman on the side of the head with the butt of his gun. Newkirk staggered, but remained upright.

"Take him to the barracks; we can't have this kind of filth here when we're about to eat!" barked the Kommandant as he turned to smile courteously at Colonel Hogan and Carter as if to apologize.

Colonel Hogan peered around the Kommandant as he watched the SS guard push Newkirk back outside with his rifle. He prayed that his friend would survive a mere two days in this death camp. Beside him, Carter swallowed repeatedly and tried to focus all his attention on the imposing Kommandant while he fought down a desperate urge to run after his English friend to save him from the horrors just outside the door.

Newkirk sank onto the bunk he'd been assigned to after he'd returned from the arduous work detail in the neighboring quarry where he'd carried heavy loads of rocks on his back all day. He asked as many people as he dared about the little Frenchman, but there was no one who knew anything. There were so many sub camps within just this one camp that Lebeau could be anywhere and two days just wasn't enough time to find him.

Newkirk sighed and shifted onto his right side to allow room for the other four men who shared his bunk and hoped he would be more successful the next day. As an uneasy sleep slowly claimed him; he thought he heard French words spoken in a bunk near him and he staggered back into wakefulness. He listened and amid all the sobs and quiet murmurings he heard a voice he recognized and thought he'd never hear again.

Feeling sick with shock, Newkirk crawled out of bed and turned to the bunk above him where four men were crammed trying to sleep. One man was awake and talking to another man across the bunks.

"Lebeau? Is that you, mate?" said Newkirk in an awed whisper that made his heart thump as he stared up into the upper bunk.

The French talking stopped abruptly and there was a rustling sound as someone small peered over the edge of the bed with a look of shock on his face.

A very thin Lebeau with a shaved head stared down at the Englishman in amazement and happiness and then confusion. He clambered down to join Newkirk and stood before him. They nearly knocked each other over hugging each other and then pulled away too fully look at the other one in closer detail.

"My dear friend" whispered Lebeau as tears filled his eyes. "You cannot be here. You are so thin and pale. What has happened to you?" he reached over and pulled Newkirk to sit beside him on the nearest bunk and looked into his friend's face.

"We came to find you" whispered Newkirk, "Colonel Hogan and Carter are here too, but they're posing as Nazis and staying with the Kommandant. We just have to let them know you are here and they'll take us away from here and back to England!"

Lebeau didn't smile, but stared up into his old friend's face and shook his head.

"It will not be that easy to talk to the Colonel and Carter," said Lebeau sadly. "If we even approach a guard or an officer we die instantly. I'm afraid you have sacrificed yourself for nothing but pain and death. I'm so sorry you came back for me when you could have gone to safety when you had the chance!"

Newkirk stared at Lebeau in shock and tried to pull the small French man into a hug. But Lebeau pulled away from him and stood up.

"I'm very sorry, Newkirk; but I have to distance myself from you or if they see us as friends they will surely kill one of us. I could not bare it if I knew my friendship led to your death in this evil place. I'm so sorry" he whispered as tears of exhaustion streamed down Newkirk's face.

Newkirk shook his head and scrambled to his feet trying in vain to grab Lebeau by the arm; pleading with him to listen to him. But Lebeau turned away and climbed up onto his bunk and pulled his thin blanket over his head trying to block out the stifled sobs from his friend standing despondently below.

The next day began early for Newkirk as the guards got them up before sunrise and trooped them out to the quarries as the first rays of light came over the hills. Newkirk worked in pained silence and occasionally caught glimpses of Lebeau a few yards from him, which renewed his pain. They worked all day and Newkirk wished he had some food as his strength had left him log ago and several times he stumbled. After he stumbled for what seemed the fiftieth time; he felt someone grab him from behind and he flinched, expecting a blow to the head. Instead, a sharp voice whispered in his ear and he turned to find Lebeau beside him looking fierce.

"If you show them you are weakened then they will kill you! If you really are weakened you must pretend to be strong even if you are on your last breath! Watch your step, my friend!" barked Lebeau as Newkirk stared at him in surprise. Lebeau turned on his heel and returned to his place as if he hadn't moved. Newkirk nodded to himself and tried to focus on what he was doing; grateful that Lebeau had made contact.

A few more hours went by and then Newkirk really thought he was going to collapse as he still had not eaten and his strength was severely sapped from not fully recovering from Stalag 13. He shouldered his load and blinked as burning sweat dripped into his eyes, nearly blinding him. He took a few steps and suddenly a sharp pain shot up his weak right ankle and without warning it crumpled beneath him sending him flying. The rocks on his back banged into his head and shoulders as he hit the ground and he gasped in pain as the white-hot pain shot up his leg from his injured ankle. In fear he looked around and saw an SS guard standing over him with a gun pointed at his head. He swallowed and hoped he wouldn't feel much pain when the bullet hit him.

To be continued…….


	4. Chapter 4

Colonel Hogan and Carter walked casually behind the Kommandant as he lead them into the quarry where there were many men on work detail digging and lifting heavy rocks and carrying them to waiting trucks. On one side of the quarry was a long staircase that overlooked a strong river below that wound its way into the woods beyond the quarry. Colonel Hogan peered down at the men at work and suddenly spied Newkirk on the ground and at the mercy of an angry SS guard who had his pistol pointed at Newkirk's head. Without thinking, Colonel Hogan shouted and suddenly all the Nazis were watching him curiously.

"Why do you halt the killing of a useless prisoner?" asked the Kommandant with a suspicious look in his eye.

"I just think it would be more fun to see him suffer a little longer rather than killing him right away!" stammered Hogan as Carter barely breathed beside him.

The Kommandant smiled and looked down at the waiting SS guard.

"I like your thinking, Colonel!" smiled the Kommandant, "You like to play with the mouse before you kill it! Very nice indeed!"

The Kommandant signaled to the SS guard and then smiled back at Hogan. Colonel Hogan signaled to Carter to follow him to Newkirk's side. They wove their way down the quarry and watched while the SS guard pulled the Englishman to his feet and replaced the pack of stone on his back again. Newkirk's ankle felt like it was on fire with pain; but he stood and gritted his teeth while he waited to see what his next fate would be.

The SS guard reached in the crowd of prisoners and to Hogan and Carter's astonishment, he pulled a small Frenchman out to help Newkirk walk. Hogan felt the color drain from his face as he made eye contact with Lebeau and realized he may be about to witness two deaths that he didn't know how to prevent. The SS guard indicated to Lebeau to help Newkirk climb the stairs up to the top of the quarry where it was assumed that they would be shot and left to the rivers current far below.

It took nearly an hour; but Newkirk and Lebeau finally reached the top of the quarry as Colonel Hogan, Carter, the Kommandant and the SS guard followed. As they reached the top, Newkirk swayed and nearly fainted as his ankle was swollen beyond description and his face was ashen. Lebeau supported his friend and stared up worriedly into his glassy face. He guided Newkirk to stand with his back to the edge of the drop off and still supporting his friend he faced the Nazis.

Colonel Hogan pushed Carter closer to Lebeau and looked pointedly into Carter's eyes trying to make him understand what he wanted him to do.

The Kommandant smiled at Colonel Hogan and turned to the SS guard to give the signal.

As the SS guard pulled the trigger several things happened all at once. Colonel Hogan pretended to be overcome by excitement and pushed Carter over the edge so that he fell backwards with a yelp.

Lebeau threw himself and Newkirk backwards and over the edge at the same time that Carter began to fall. The bullet was rendered harmless and missed them all and the Nazis and Hogan were left to watch them plummet down to hit the churning water below.

Carter twisted as he fell and pointed his body into a dive so that he sliced into the water and came to the surface in a matter of seconds. The current was strong and by the time he surfaced, he'd already traveled out of sight of the quarry and the watching Nazis. He wiped the water from his face and looked around for his friends.

Lebeau surfaced spluttering close to him and then the two of them looked on in horror as Newkirk's body rose and rolled in the water, only to sink again as the current tugged them along. Carter dived into the murky water and snagged Newkirk's arm and frantically pulled him to the surface. Lebeau swam up next to him and helped him roll Newkirk's head back and out of the water.

"He's not breathing!" shouted Lebeau as he treaded water beside Carter and Newkirk. Carter swam frantically towards the rivers edge and with Lebeau's help they pulled Newkirk from the water and turned him on his side.

"There's a heart beat! He's alive!" exclaimed Carter as he gripped Newkirk's wrist. The Englishman coughed up dirty river water and groaned. His eyes fluttered open and he stared around at the others in confusion.

"Am I dead?" he asked in a faint voice as Carter forced him to sit up.

"Not yet!" replied Carter as he hoisted Newkirk onto his shoulders and followed Lebeau into the woods. "If we stay here, they will find us and finish us off!"

Colonel Hogan watched his men fall until he could no longer see them and hoped and prayed that they would look after each other until he could reach them. The Kommandant was smiling at him again.

"I like your style, Colonel!" laughed the Kommandant. "Get rid of unwanted lazy officers while you're at it! You should be a Kommandant! Would you like me to give you a recommendation?"

Colonel Hogan smiled at him pleasantly.

"No thank-you, Kommandant!" he said a he put his cap back on his head. "I'm happy doing what I do now! If you don't mind; I do need to get back to my command and let my superiors know what kind of camp you run here as I'm sure they'd be very interested in what I've seen here!"

Colonel Hogan clipped his heels together. "Heil Hitler!" he said and turned on his heel and made his way out of the quarry and out of the camp. He found his car parked where he'd left it and drove out without any difficulty. He felt as if he were in a dream as he drove back to the house where Kinch waited.

Carter came to a stop behind Lebeau and crouched down under the hang of a sprawling oak tree on the border of the woodland. A cluster of houses lay beyond a small hill to their west and Carter recognized the house where Kinch was holed up waiting for them.

"Louis, that's where we need to be, but the neighbors are dangerous and suspicious especially with you both dressed as prisoners. We've got to find a way to contact Kinch before a patrol finds us here," said Carter as he put Newkirk down.

Newkirk struggled into a sitting position and leaned against Carter for support.

"You cold leave us here and go to Kinch while we wait?" suggested Newkirk to Carter as Lebeau nodded.

"Are you crazy? After all the searching we've done for both of you! The Colonel would kill me if he knew I'd left you both alone to be captured and killed! No way!" steamed Carter as Lebeau and Newkirk shushed him and looked around.

"Well, if we all sit here and argue, we'll attract a patrol before we can make a plan!" exclaimed Lebeau, folding his arms and staring out at the houses.

As they watched, they saw a car drive up and Colonel Hogan got out and stood by the car as if in a dream. Carter, Lebeau and Newkirk watched and waited as their commanding officer finally looked up and saw them hidden in the shadows of the large tree. His face broke into a smile and he looked around and began walking towards them.

The neighborhood seemed to be ignoring the newcomers on this day as Colonel Hogan lead his men back to the safety of the house and a future of freedom from the Nazi terrorism they'd suffered.

The End.

P.S. Thank-you for reading my first story; I hope it was enjoyed even though it was very morbid. Just if anyone is curious, I based a few parts from the Mauthausen-Gusen camp on experiences that a family friend of ours suffered during the war. He is my adopted uncle and is now in his early eighties. One thing that really unnerves me about him is that he spends every evening watching videos of the liberation's of the concentration camps. He lost his entire family in the holocaust and I believe he is still searching all those faces for the ones he lost and never found.


End file.
